Clergy and poet Billy Collins' work invoked as Somers mourns and remembers

Rabbi Jonathan Mallamy offered an interfaith reflection and read excerpts from Billy Collins' poem "The Names," which the transcript identifies as written by a former U.S. poet laureate and Somers resident. Mallamy framed the poem and his remarks around the necessity of remembering victims as people and of holding vulnerability as part of a humane life.

Reverend Mike Thomas (Church of the Good Shepherd) closed the program with a benediction calling for healing, forgiveness and a communal commitment to build safety with, not from, one another. Mallamy and Thomas' remarks emphasized pastoral care for those who continue to grieve and the moral obligation to teach and steward the memory.